Ornamental Separator

Historic Site: The Public Hospital of 1773

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  • Tuesday

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  • Wednesday

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  • Thursday

    1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

  • Friday

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  • Saturday

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  • Sunday

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The first American hospital devoted exclusively to treating the mentally ill. The Public Hospital of Williamsburg (also known as Eastern State Hospital or Eastern Lunatic Asylum) was first proposed to the Virginia House of Burgesses by Francis Fauquier in 1766 and admitted its first patient on October 12, 1773. Changes in how the British public perceived mental illness and political and economic goals within the colony drove Virginia leaders to establish this institution.

Public Hospital

Interactive History

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Lost Architecture: Eastern State Hospital

Images of the Public Hospital through the years.

A Family Calling

How the Galts contributed to the history of Williamsburg’s Public Hospital

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